


the magic we were meant to know

by illiterateowl



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur finds out about Merlin's magic, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, King Arthur Pendragon - Freeform, M/M, pining!merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27586342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illiterateowl/pseuds/illiterateowl
Summary: arthur finds out about merlin's magic and locks himself in his room like the emotionally constipated prat he is. merlin, meanwhile, is having an emotional breakdown until they finally talk. oh, and apparently merlin's magic is just as in love with arthur as he is.inspired by a tumblr post!
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 251





	the magic we were meant to know

like the idiot i am, i wrote this on a reblog of user mamalazzer's [tumblr post](https://owlinadayswork.tumblr.com/post/634906744812929025/mamalaz-merlin-au-arthur-wants-to-see-merlins) and because tumblr is stupid and doesn't let you copy and paste entire posts, i refuse to repost it the normal way. 

edit: big thank you to 1stBoneFan_is_SterekGirl for copying this out. i don't know what you did, or what i didn't do and should have done differently, but i am ever so grateful. 

\- - - - -

It had been nearly a day since Arthur found out.

He’d been holed up in his room, thinking, pondering, and heaven knows what else. Merlin hoped he wasn’t considering having him killed or even worse, banished. His heart clenched painfully when he thought about being separated from Arthur, either by distance or by death.

He loved him too much to leave him.

It was simple as that, really.

He’d come to terms with his affections years ago, but being by the King’s side, day and night and the hours in between, they never wavered or weakened. Arthur probably didn’t feel the same and why would he? Merlin was his servant. Nothing more.

And he supposed he expected to be treated as such after Arthur found out. He expected to be sent to the dungeons or banished to the farthest kingdoms. He expected Arthur to be angry, furious – rabid, even. He expected to be killed right where he stood. So when Arthur looked at Merlin with shocked, betrayed, and wide blue eyes and then quietly excused himself from the throne room, Merlin’s world crumbled around him.

How could he redeem himself from this? Years of lying and hiding couldn’t be replaced in hours, nor days or weeks, nor any span of time for reconciliation. No, this…bond between them…no, it had to be shattered. It couldn’t withstand this. Could it?

Merlin had been crying alone in his room ever since Arthur had left the throne room where he’d accidentally performed magic to save him when his chair broke. It had been the two of them alone, talking about the kingdom and its people, so the silence after wasn’t filled by shouts or exclamations. There was no need to make immediate and strong decisions in front of his people. What Merlin saw was a genuine reaction and he hated it.

“Merlin,” Gaius voice wafted from the other room and he sniffed.

“I don’t want to eat.”

“It’s not food, Merlin.” came his tired remark, “Arthur has asked to see you.”

Merlin was out the door in seconds, rushing past Gaius with a barely there “thank you” and practically running to Arthur’s chambers. He swiped as his teary eyes, adjusted his rumpled clothes, and then knocked on the door.

“If you’re not Merlin, don’t come in.”

Well…he was Merlin so he cracked open the door.

The room was dark, save for the fireplace and a few dimly gleaming candles on the bedside table, and Arthur sat in the middle of the light, looked worn and tired and…hurt. He glanced up at the sound of Merlin entering and immediately Merlin saw all of his repressed emotions come crashing down. His face contorted with anger, sadness, betrayal, fear– a whirlwind of emotions Merlin was unprepared for. He felt tears slip down his cheeks as Arthur buried his face in his hands, shaking. When he looked up again, he too was crying.

“How long, Merlin?” he asked shakily. Merlin swallowed hard.

“Since I was born.” he croaked.

“You’ve lived in my kingdom for nearly ten years and-” Arthur’s voice caught and he punched the bed beside him, “you lied to me, Merlin! Who even are you?”

“I wanted to tell you, Arthur,” Merlin’s gaze trailed to the floor, feeling his legs wobble as he took tentative steps away from the door. “But…I didn’t want to push you away. I was…afraid.”

A muscle in Arthur’s jaw twitched. “Afraid of what?! You thought I would kill you? Merlin-” He stood up then but immediately sat back down, tugging at his hair. “I wouldn’t kill you. But I trusted you,” His hurt gaze pierced Merlin’s soul and he felt new tears track down his face.

“I’m sorry-I’m so sorry, Arthur…” he babbled, voice tight with emotion, “And I trust you. I always have.”

“Then why didn’t you trust me by telling me about your magic?”

“Because I didn’t want you to have to choose between me and your kingdom.”

Arthur’s eyes widened at that. His face slackened and his shoulders dropped as he let out a breath of air through his nose. “That was what worried you?”

“Yes.”

There was a long moment of silence then as neither of them dared look the other in the eye. Merlin still stood awkwardly by the door, not really wanting to incite any more of Arthur’s emotional outburts, and Arthur was slumped over at the edge of his bed, head in his hands. The distance between them felt wide and thick with smoke; a barrier between them…

A barrier that was shattered when Arthur suddenly breathed out, “I forgive you.”

Merlin’s head snapped up. “You-what?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Merlin.” Arthur said in a tired voice, but it was teasing enough that Merlin allowed himself the hint of a smile and the lightest of laughs.

“Yes, sire.”

When Arthur looked up, he too was smiling, albeit tentatively. His brows were still furrowed and he looked like the weight of the world was rested over his hunched shoulders, but he was…content, Merlin thought. The king sat up a little straighter, glanced around the room as if pulling together his thoughts, and then said, “So you’re actually competent at magic, then?”

The question caught Merlin so off guard that he huffed out a sharp laugh. “I-Yes, I am.”

Arthur nodded at that and then pointed at Merlin’s hands clasped in front of himself. “Show me a spell, then.”

For some reason, the simple request made Merlin’s heartrate speed up and a warm flush creep up on his cheeks. He’d always wanted to be as open and honest with Arthur as possible and now getting the opportunity to do it? to open himself up to him in a way he’d never been able to before? That thrilled him.

He eagerly shuffled over to Arthur’s side, crouching down at his feet. Mind racing, he tried to come up with a spell, but one kept nudging at his mind like an insistent dog asking for attention. He opened his mouth to say something different, but when he clasped his hands and spoke, the word “blostme” escaped his lips. In his hands lay a rose: Camelot red and more vibrant than any flower Merlin had ever seen. He looked at it in surprise and glanced up Arthur.

To his delight, the king had an amazed smile on his face, full of wonder and pure happiness. Merlin quickly took the flower in his fingers and bowed his head. “Sire,” he murmured, handing Arthur the rose.

“It’s beautiful,” Arthur whispered, awestruck. “I didn’t know magic could be this beautiful.”

“I normally doesn’t do spells like that,” Merlin confessed, blushing. “I think my magic just likes you.”

“Really?” Arthur said with a raised eyebrow.

Merlin nodded in reply and held his hands out again to distract himself from his rapidly beating heart. “Forbearne.” To his horror, a Camelot dragon roared to life in his palm, made of pure, magical flames. His magic must be really obsessed with Arthur. The fire danced around the two of them, eventually dissipating into sparks that turned Arthur’s hair even more golden in the dim light. He frantically groped for another spell; anything to make it seem like he wasn’t trying desperately to suck up to the king. He settled on a snow spell and mumbled, “Sniwan.” Instead of snowflakes, however, white flower petals rained down around him and he cursed his magic, grumbling into his hands.

Arthur only laughed and said, “I think your magic likes me too much.”

Merlin heaved a sigh and said under his breath, “It only likes you because I like you, you prat.”

“You what?”

Merlin froze. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. “Nothing!”

“You said you like me,” Arthur said with a teasing smile, but then his face fell. “Unless…that’s another lie?”

“No!” Merlin stood up, heart racing for an entirely different reason now. Arthur couldn’t believe he hated him…not after that. “No, I- I do like you. A lot. More than-more than I should.” he blurted; he would rather be embarassed about this for the rest of his life than let Arthur go on thinking differently.

Arthur eyed him curiously, a small smile quirking up the corner of his mouth. “You do?”

“Yes,” Merlin replied without any hesitation.

Arthur’s grin was so blinding, Merlin almost cried. “Then I think you and your magic will be happy to know that I also like you more than I should.”

“Wh-Really?”

“Yes, really. Now come here, you big idiot.”

Arthur pulled him close, and then their lips were touching softly, light as a feather but so much heavier in their minds. This was what they’d been missing. This was the future they were meant to have.

This…this was the real magic in their lives.


End file.
